Three Israeli trainees killed in Maryland plane crash on dream flight

An investigation is underway in Maryland after a light plane crashed Sunday night near Bowie, close to Washington, killing three Israelis. The victims were Yoav Boomerind of Zichron Yaakov, David Rabinovitch of Haifa, and Elad Nydick of Toronto. Boomerind and Rabinovitch will be buried in Israel, while Nydick will be buried in Toronto.

Boomerind’s father told N12 that his son had traveled to the United States to fulfill his dream of becoming a pilot. He said, “A beautiful, smart, and most successful child imaginable. We adopted him at age one from Ukraine, and he made us happy parents.” The father added that Yoav was also an outstanding soccer player and pilot, a family man who liked helping others and volunteered with Israel Police. Yoav leaves his parents and his sister, Inbar, 21, who serves as an officer in the IDF.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the consul in Washington and the ministry’s department for Israelis abroad are supporting the families, keeping in close contact and coordinating with local authorities. ZAKA’s U.S. commander, Yanki Landau, said teams began working with relevant American agencies after the disaster and are helping at the scene and with the bereaved families.

According to a message sent to members of the WIFA pilot community, the plane, tail number N249WF, was found early Monday in a wooded area and there were no survivors. The organization canceled all flights that day. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration, examining the intended route from New Jersey to an airfield in Montgomery County. NBC reported that investigators collected remains from the forest near residential homes and are reviewing radar data. A preliminary report is expected within days, but determining the cause will take longer. The crash alert came from an iPhone at 11:53 p.m. local time to Prince George’s County emergency dispatch, pointing to a possible accident near highways 50 and 301. Because it happened in darkness and there were no witnesses, search teams needed about four hours to locate the wreckage. The Piper Cherokee PA-28 came down in a wooded area just meters from homes, with debris scattered near a playground and part of a wing landing in one backyard. Residents told Fox they heard a loud explosion and at first thought it was fireworks or thunder.